Free A Song for Joey by Elizabeth Audrey Mills

hers.
"You're safe now, Belinda, don't be scared. Jacob told me what happened. I promise I
won't let anything hurt you while you're here."
I clutched at her arm and sobbed into her dress. The recollection had been just like
reliving the whole torture, moment by moment, and still the memories rang in my head,
leaving me shivering with emotion. She gently patted my back and stroked her fingers
through my hair, making soothing noises until, slowly, the trembling eased and the
racking sobs stopped.
She brushed the tears from my cheeks with a hankie that had appeared from nowhere.
"Shall we try to find out where your Gran is?"
I swallowed, panting from the violence of my reaction, wiping my eyes with the back of
my hand. "Yes, please."
Edith squeezed my arm reassuringly. "Good girl."
She took my hand and led me to where a big, black telephone sat on a small table in her
hallway. With the help of the operator, she was soon talking to the desk sergeant at the
police station, enquiring about Mrs Cartwright, of The Nest, in Trafalgar Road.
She squatted beside me and held the phone so that I could hear the whole conversation.
The officer checked his records and informed us that he had heard nothing, but would try
to find out for us. Edith told him that she would make sure I was well cared for until we
had news of Gran, and he promised to ring as soon as he had something to report.
After she replaced the heavy handset into it's cradle, she led me back to the kitchen and
sat me again at the table. She poured me a glass of milk, and then sat opposite me, a
serious expression on her face.
"Belinda, you have had some terrible experiences over the last few days. I want you to
know that most people are not like that awful man. You are safe here. Jacob and I would
be happy to look after you until your Gran returns, but you don't have to stay here if you
don't want to."
"You're a lot like my Gran; I think I would like to stay with you, until she comes home,
please," I said, seriously.
When I look back at those few days after the night of the flood, my mind oscillates
between extremes of emotion, flicks from the awful moments of Grainger's abuse to the
security and kindness of the time I spent with Edith and Jacob. In the scale of other, later
events, it might seem that the abuse was insignificant, a small assault - but that's because
it wasn't you who lived through it, whose innocence was violated, stolen, in a few seconds
which meant nothing to that beast, but which cast a cloud over the rest of my life.
-♪-♫-♪
    My stay with the Macintoshes lasted much longer than expected. Gran's health was
badly affected by the events that occurred after I was rescued, and it was months before I
saw her again.
    Inspector Randal came to see me with news about her and what had happened. He told
me that the police had managed to track down one of the labourers who was lodging with
us at the time, and he told Archie about that night.
    We discovered that Gran had waited at her window for an hour after I was rescued,
becoming increasingly worried about my welfare. According to the man, she suddenly
shouted "I'm coming, Belinda!" and jumped into the freezing waters. It seemed to the man
that she was trying to swim in the direction of the town, but she had not realised that, by
then, the tide had turned, and a fast flow of water was rushing down Trafalgar Road
towards the seafront. She was swept away, and that was the last he saw of her. He
assumed she must have been carried out to sea.
    The police found out the rest of the story from the Royal Navy. The crew of their rescue
helicopter had found Gran at dawn, clinging to the telephone box that stood on the corner
of Trafalgar Road and the seafront. They lifted her off and took her straight to Norwich
Hospital.
    Tough old bird that she was, she refused to give up on life, and was gradually nursed
back to some kind of health. But it was an ordeal that had profound effects on her,
physically and